World Series: Tim Lincecum will start Game 1, Matt Cain Game 2 for Giants

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San Francisco Giants’ Tim Lincecum, from left, Jonathan Sanchez and Eugenio Velez arrive at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010. The Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to win the National League pennant and will face the Texas Rangers in the World Series. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff)

The Giants will match aces with the Texas Rangers, sending Tim Lincecum against stern left-hander Cliff Lee in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday at AT&T Park.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy will start right-hander Matt Cain in Game 2 on Thursday and use left-hander Jonathan Sanchez when the series shifts to Texas on Saturday for Game 3, flip-flopping the order of his Nos. 2-3 starters from the National League championship series.

It only gets tougher for the Giants’ stout staff, which shut down the potent Philadelphia Phillies to win the pennant. But the Phillies entered the NLCS with cold bats, and many framed their loss as more a failure on their part than an achievement for the Giants’ pitchers.

The Rangers are another great offensive team — and they have been a sizzling wrecking crew while toppling the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees.

Giants general manager Brian Sabean said he didn’t think his pitchers got enough credit for shutting down the Phillies, and he is confident in how they will match up against Josh Hamilton, Elvis Andrus and the rest of the red-hot Rangers.

“If you ask me straight up, we like our pitching staff better than the Yankee pitching staff,” Sabean said. “Simply put, we don’t have the Yankee pitching staff that gave up all the runs they gave up against Texas.

“I have no way to prove this on paper, but if you put the Phillies beside the Rangers, we just beat a pretty good team. So I don’t think our pitching staff is going to be intimidated by Texas.

“Having said that, we know the Phillies better than we know Texas. So it’s going to be intriguing as these games are played — the pitch-to-pitch and inning-to-inning adjustments. Really, we’re going to be feeling each other out as we go along.”

Bochy said he moved Cain into the No. 2 spot because he didn’t want the right-hander to be too rested; Cain hasn’t started since Game 3 of the NLCS on Oct. 19. Bochy also said he retained faith in Sanchez despite the left-hander’s erratic outing in Saturday’s Game 6 clinching victory over the Phillies.

“A guy has a hiccup now and then,” Bochy said. “We’re here because of Jonathan Sanchez.”

Bochy confirmed Madison Bumgarner will be the Giants’ Game 4 starter, facing right-hander Tommy Hunter. Giants left-hander Barry Zito, who was left off the playoff roster for the first two rounds, is 11-1 with a 3.75 ERA in 15 career starts at Texas. Bochy said he hasn’t made any roster decisions, but if Zito makes it, his apparent role would be in relief.

The Rangers will start left-hander C.J. Wilson against Cain in Game 2, and right-hander Colby Lewis will oppose Sanchez in Game 3.

Moving back Sanchez also allows Cain, a fly-ball pitcher, to take the mound at home, where the fences are deeper. Sanchez, who has more swing-and-miss stuff, would be starting on the road for the fourth consecutive time in the postseason.

“I know they scored a lot of runs against the Yankees,” Sanchez said. “But they haven’t faced us yet. We’ve got pretty good pitching.”

Sanchez couldn’t retire a hitter in the third inning Saturday and knew he was in trouble when he started the game with just a 90 mph fastball, down from his usual 92-93 range.

“I just didn’t have it,” Sanchez said. “But I’ll be ready for the next time.”

Cain hasn’t allowed an earned run in two postseason starts against the Atlanta Braves and the Phillies. Moving him up also aligns him for a Game 6 start; it is possible the Giants could use Lincecum for a piece on short rest if the series goes seven games.

“We’ll go at those guys the same way we went at the Phillie guys,” Cain said. “We know who’s hot. We’ve watched the games. Hamilton has been hitting, so they’ve been pitching to him real carefully, but Andrus is definitely their fire starter. He gets on, and he gets them going.”

The Rangers also have Bengie Molina, the big-hearted catcher whom the Giants traded June 30. Will the pitchers have to change their sequences while facing an opponent who knows them to their souls?

“No, we’re just going to throw it just the same so he can tear us apart,” Cain deadpanned. “We’re not changing our signs, either. Just keep it all the same.”

They’ll certainly take the same results they got against the Phillies.

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